In 2007 I was commissioned to produce this hand dyed chiffon silk for Stoned Cherrie. I was given one piece of silk to manufacture, which left little room for error. I had 24 hours to turn this order around. The client supplied me with swatches of the colours that she needed me to match (grey, royal blue and purple) so that the finished work would be holistic with the rest of the collection.
This piece will always be memorable for me. As luck would have it, I had to have my ancient old Siamese cat put down on the same day. She had been my constant companion for 16 years and it was an emotional day for me.
I always found it very interesting how sometimes my work reflected my inner feelings. This stormy piece was a reflection of my inner turmoil on this occasion and whenever I see it I am filled with bitter/sweet memories. I remember standing and dyeing this fabric through tears that streamed down my cheeks.
I used what I call a Split Technique to create the different bands of colour. It is created by gathering the fabric along the selvedge and then binding it with tight elastic bands at the point where you want the colour change. After that I syringed the different colours onto the different sections before heat-setting the dye in the microwave oven.
In spite of the challenges on the day, I still managed to deliver the order within the client's deadline and a couple of days later this garment walked down the catwalk.
Have a great day in full colour!
Kind regards
Melanie
0835689150
